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United States of America
The '''United States of America '''is a Human country comprising fifty states, a federal district, five major self governing territories, and various possessions. It is played by Flammenwerfer Specialist. History Paleo Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonisation began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Following the French and Indian War, numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independencein 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848. During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery. By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish American War and World War One confirmed the country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War Two as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Sweeping civil rights legislation, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, outlawed discrimination based on race or color. During the Cold War, the United States and the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the first U.S. Exoplanet landing on Proxima Centauri B in 1952 . The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as Earth's sole superpower. Government and Politics The federal government is the national government of the United States, a federal republic in North America, composed of fifty states, a federal district, five major self governing territories and several island possessions. The federal government is composed of three distinct branches. Legislative, executive and judicial, whose powers are vested by the United States Constitution in the Congress, the president and the federal courts, respectively. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court. Legislative Branch The legislative branch is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, and consists of two chambers. The House of Representatives and the Senate. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Congress has 535 voting members, 435 representatives and 100 senators. The House of Representatives has six non voting members representing Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia in addition to its 435 voting members. Although they cannot vote in the full house, these members can address the house, sit and vote in congressional committees, and introduce legislation. Executive Branch The executive power in the federal government is vested in the president of the United States, although power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials. The president and vice president are elected as running mates by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation in both houses of Congress. The president is limited to a maximum of two four year terms. If the president has already served two years or more of a term to which some other person was elected, he or she may only serve one more additional four year term. President The executive branch consists of the president and those to who the president's powers are delegated. The president is both the head of state and government, as well as the military commander in chief and chief diplomat. The president, according to the Constitution, must take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. The president presides over the executive branch of the federal government, an organisation numbering about five million people, including one million active duty military personnel. Judicial Branch The Judiciary explains and applies the laws. This branch does this by hearing and eventually making decisions on various legal cases, organised under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. Article Three of the Constitution requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits the Congress to create other federal courts, and place limitations on their jurisdiction. Article Three federal judges are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, retire, or die. Military and Technology The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Defense administers the armed forces, including the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. The Coast Guard is run by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and by the Department of the Navy during times of war. Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime through the Selective Service System. American forces can be rapidly deployed by the Air Force's large fleet of transport aircraft, the Navy's eleven active aircraft carriers, and Marine expeditionary units at sea with the Navy's Atlantic and Pacific fleets. The military operates 865 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than a hundred active duty personnel in twenty five foreign countries.